New Regulations On Money Laundry

It is no secret that criminal organizations often hide, hedge or invest the proceeds from their illicit activities (dirty money) through legal businesses in order to legitimize it. This is commonly called money laundering. It is also common knowledge that certain industries, and in particular casinos (both virtual and actual), car sales, art trading and real estate have been commonly targeted by criminal organizations for those illegal purposes. Costa Rica has not been an exception to this trend.

In the last decade, Costa Rica (as most western countries) has strengthened its legal framework to prevent it from becoming the "narcos" (drug cartels) dry cleaning. Just about a month ago, a new executive decree worth commenting upon was published in the official journal, which regulates certain business activities and creates a series of new obligations.